Lonbir two

Verified Slow Way

Verified by 100.00% of reviewers

Much better route than Lonbir 1! I prefer this version which follows the river past Stirchley, as Pershore Road can be exhausting to walk along given all the traffic. I agree with other reviewers, there are some lovely cafes in Stirchley, but I feel the walk along the river justifies bypassing those.
My main change would be it needs to go the other way round Cannon Hill Park (as per Lonbir 3) which takes you past the MAC cafe for a lovely refreshment stop. And the needless detour at Calthorpe Park! That one is pretty obvious though.

Very pleasant well plotted route. We followed it from Longbridge. It follows the route of the Rea which is signposted so it makes it quite easy to follow. A series of parks and the occasional residential street make for a friendly walk. Having crossed Kings Norton Park it joins the Birmingham and Worcester Canal at the junction with the Stratford for a short stretch and then diverts off to follow the River Rea. This is where my problem with the route is. It's over 14km and makes no effort to accommodate rest stops. It actively bypasses Stirchley which has an amazing array of shops, cafes, restaurants and pubs. It falls foul of the guidance which says to use existing routes but not be distracted by them. The same thing happens in Cannon Hill Park where the route takes you away from the cafe at MAC. There a puzzling loop into Calthorpe Park as you enter Balsall Heath when you could just continue ahead. At Highgate it follows the Rea down a walkway at the back end of housing (see picture 8) bypassing a high street full of takeaways and a supermarket. The rest of the journey is direct and involves some pavement pounding up Gooch Street, Sherlock Street (traffic can be quite busy along here) and then up Hurst Street where the Gay VIllage and Chinatown offer numerous restaurants, cafes, bars and supermarkets in the last 500 metres before reaching the meeting point at New Street. Good enough to pass but with some serious flaws as a Slow Way.

A surprisingly green route closely following the River Rea and mostly through urban parkland until you reach the Birmingham inner ring road at Balsall Heath. The route is exceptionally well mapped. It's a little lacking in refreshment stops until Cannon Hill Park where there is a cafe on the route ( there is a bigger cafe/restaurant at the Midlands Arts Centre [MAC] if you traverse the park on the other side of the lake or, if you divert onto the `Pershore Road at Stirchley, there is a lot of cafes, shops, pubs etc.
An enjoyable walk.

Share your views about this route, give it a star rating, indicate whether it should be verified or not.

Include information that will be useful to others considering to walk or wheel it.

You can add up to 15 photos.